Despite my best efforts, I overpacked.  It wasn’t super noticeable for the first half of my trip but I was starting to get tired of packing and repacking too many things by the end of it.  I will admit that the different climate zones I traveled in did require different kinds of clothes, but I could’ve definitely done with less.

1. Clothes

I packed probably a good outfit or two more than necessary and several pairs of pants more than I actually needed.  My hiking boots gave me very strange blisters on my second or third day that only got worse as the trip progressed.  I’d never experienced this before with these boots, I’d worn them for an entire summer in the mountains without any issues.  I’m not sure how I would’ve accounted for that, but I did wish that I chose a different pair of sneakers to pack.  The Reeboks I packed, while very lightweight and squishable, didn’t provide much support on the days I walked 15+ kilometers and didn’t give my feet much relief from the blisters caused by my hiking boots.  The hiking boots definitely did come in handy towards the middle-end of my trip when I did a fair bit of hiking in southern Germany and Austria, but I don’t think I would pack hiking boots again unless a) I knew they weren’t going to give me blisters from hell and b) I was going to do hiking more consistently on the trip.

I definitely wished I packed a pair of “nicer”/more chic clothing for Berlin.  I think it would’ve been cool to go out and experience the EDM club life Berlin is so famous for, but none of the clothes I packed were cool enough for me to even try to get in.  I remember wishing that I’d packed a pair of black jeans, my doc martens, a plain black t shirt, and a leather jacket.  I don’t think the leather jacket would’ve been a smart thing to pack on a backpacking trip, but all the rest would’ve been completely doable.

2. Electronics

I packed a lot of electronics.  There isn’t too much that I wouldn’t pack again, but the two that took up the most space/weight and I didn’t use very much at all were my 55-200mm lens and my Beats headphones.  I used the headphones on the plane, but the case is huge and it just ended up taking a lot of space in my pack when I was going around Europe.

I’m not sure if I would pack a GoPro again.  I was pretty good about shooting on it while I was in London, but the battery life left a lot to be desired and I didn’t remember to charge it every night.  It’s not something I was used to doing and had to make a very conscious effort to record footage with it.  It could’ve been really cool if I decided to be really intentional about shooting with it and remembered to charge it, but ultimately I think it just took up extra space in my bag.

3.  Toiletries

In terms of toiletries, I definitely didn’t need to pack as much makeup as I did.  What didn’t get stolen (rip Naked 3 palette) just ended up being a burden whenever I needed to pack and unpack my bag.  The first aid kit I made was incredibly helpful and I will pack it with me on every trip I take from here on out.

4.  Miscellaneous

I don’t think I really overpacked in this department.  The one thing I wouldn’t pack again is the shoulder bag—even though I did use it a few times, it didn’t stand up well to being rolled up and shoved in my pack when I wasn’t using it.  Instead I’d bring a smaller, packable shoulder bag that would just hold the necessities when going out to a place where a big backpack may not be super appropriate.

I can’t stress how important earplugs were for getting a semi-decent night’s sleep in a hostel.  I used them every night and it helped reduce the noise of drunk people stumbling into the dorms at 3AM.   I packed an extra pair just in case I lost the first one.